Pop Japan Travel introduces Ghibli-themed "Totoro's Pathway" Tour!

After a busy summer travel season, Pop Japan Travel is pleased to announce the Totoro's Pathway Tour, a tour that takes visitors beyond urban Tokyo to the locales that inspired the setting for many of the iconic masterworks produced by Studio Ghibli.

With an itinerary that covers more than 700 miles, the Totoro's Pathway tour will lead guests north to the rolling mountains and natural beauty of Kakunodate, which background artist Kazuo Oga incorporated into My Neighbor Totoro. The tour then heads south to Tomo-no-ura, a small coastal fishing village that inspired the look of Ponyo. Along the way, the tour will visit numerous other destinations, including the famous caves and sea views of Matsushima, the Oeshiki Festival in suburban Tokyo, and (of course) the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. The tour is the first of a brand new lineup of tours announced by Pop Japan Travel for the coming year.

"This tour lets people experience the hospitality of rural Japan while visiting places that have played an instrumental role in some of the world's most famous animated films," says PJT Director of Operations Gigi Guiting, admitting that, "It's something we've been wanting to try for a long time. Besides, if we wanted to tour all the places that inspired the Ghibli films, we'd probably have to organize a world tour!" Evan Miller, PJT Tour Coordinator and former resident of rural Japan himself, echoed that sentiment. "We wanted to give our guests a look at some of Japan's hidden gems that most tourists overlook, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do that."

The Totoro's Pathway Tour takes off on October 5 and returns on October 14. The cost of the tour includes all accommodations, round trip airfare to Japan from Los Angeles, full tours of every area visited, transportation, professional bilingual tour guides, entrance fees to all activities, a customized guidebook created exclusively for the tour, and more. Guests from other cities may also contact Pop Japan Travel to arrange flights to Japan from other destinations. People interested in taking the tour may visit http://www.popjapantravel.com/ or e-mail go@popjapantravel.com to sign up. All applications are due by September 7.

Since 2003, POP JAPAN TRAVEL has operated countless group tours and custom tours with themes focused on Japanese anime, manga, video games, music, fashion (to name a few) – all at an affordable price. Pop Japan Travel tours offer a careful balance of the hyper-modern world of J-pop culture and the rich traditions of ancient Japan. Additionally, PJT is the ONLY tour agency to provide exclusive experiences such as visits to anime and game studios, meetings with manga artists or designers, and classes at an actual manga school. On every group tour, a friendly, accommodating, knowledgeable, and bilingual guide will make sure your experience in Japan is everything you could ever hope it would be, and more.